Jason Hart?? Come on Jazz--Are You Kidding Me??

The Utah Jazz ended the 06-07 season with plenty of hope for the 07-08 season. Predicted to finish 8th in the West in the pre-season polls, the Jazz ran the tables and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Things were looking up in late June after the season ended, they only had 3 players not signed to contracts that all wanted to come back. The Jazz didn't need to upgrade, their experience in the playoffs was enough and were already looking like a potential front runner again for the 07-08 season. But then came the falling out of Derek Fisher, who left the team to seek medical attention for his daughter and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. I respect Derek Fisher for his decision and will be rooting for him next season to do well, but surely not his team. Then the Jazz drafted Morris Almond, the purest shooter in the draft out of Rice, and Kyrylo Fesenko, a tall athletic center from Ukraine. In addition, the Jazz also signed the rights to match any contract offer for 2nd year point guard Dee Brown and 3rd year shooting guard C.J. Miles. It is also expected the Jazz with offer center Rafael Araujo the same contract. And now comes the juggernaut, without any notice, the Jazz announced they have signed another shooting guard in Jason Hart. This one begs to ask the VP of operations for the Jazz, Kevin O'Connor, "What in the bleepity bleep are you thinking??" The Jazz lose a proven champion, veteran, and motivator in Derek Fisher, and then sign an unproven, journeyman, that has made the visit to 5 different teams during 6 years in the NBA. Even O'Connor seems very unsure about the deal, saying of Hart, "he brings some veteran leadership a little bit." The Jazz right now are trying to go up and escalator that is going down. Last week Morris Peterson visited the team, a guy who fits the mold of a Derek Fisher. Without notice, the Jazz waste an "undisclosed amount"of money to Jason Hart on a multi-year contract, after Peterson chose to sign the the New Orleans Hornets. I stress "multi-year contract" because Hart has never played more than a year with any other previous team, being waived or traded every year. Hart's numbers are no better than the worst player on the Jazz roster that received comparable minutes to Hart last season. Either the Jazz are loading up for a multi-player trade, or they have gone mad. Until that trade happens, Jason Heart--go out there and prove me wrong (along with every other loyal Jazz fan out there).